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Snow Cover Map

The snow cover mapping is based on the classification of wet snow and the extrapolation of the dry snow cover above this altitude. The reason for this approach is the lack of discrimination between dry snow and snow-free areas with C-Band SAR systems (with current repeat rates), because at this frequency dry snow is highly transparent and thus the backscattering from the ground below the dry snow dominates. During the melting season, however, when the snow becomes wet, the backscattering is strongly reduced and this enables discrimination of wet snow from snow free or dry snow surfaces. ASAR WS and IM data at 75m spacing were downloaded in near realtime from the ESA rolling archive to process up-to-date snow cover maps shown beside.